Lady in Red
by InuHanyouGurl
Summary: Short Zutara songfic done to 'Lady in Red' by Chris de Burgh.


A/N- I apologize that this isn't the best piece of writing. I listened to this song, and the mental image was so strong that I had to write it down. Pointless and fluffy, but ….oh well. : ) And those of you who are keeping tabs on _'Virtually a Princess' _the next chapter should be out after my finals are over. I've got part of it written so never fear. Maybe this will do till then, huh?

Comments are love

_Lady in Red_

Maybe peace is what Zuko had always needed. Looking out over the assembled crowd as his uncle spoke to them, Fire Nation intermingled with the other nations' representatives, he felt like the world was right. He smiled at his uncle, who looked surprisingly good in the garb of the Fire Lord. Of course, Zuko would eventually take his place, but when his father fell, Zuko had known that he was not ready to run the Fire Nation. Zuko scanned the room, searching, and returned his attention to his uncle's speech with a smile.

"…And now," Iroh said, returning his nephew's smile with a mischievious grin. "The moment many have been waiting for. I present to you Aang, the Avatar, and his teachers and protectors: Katara of the Southern Water Tribe, her brother Sokka of the Southern Water Tribe, and Toph Bei Fong of the Earth Kingdom. These brave warriors lead the attack on the Fire Nation capital along with my heir, Zuko."

The four of them entered, dressed in red. Sokka was pouting at Iroh, having specifically told the old man that he was the oldest and therefore should be mentioned first. A look of disinterest painted Toph's face as she entered in a pretty red outfit befitting a Fire Nation noble. Zuko almost laughed when he realized she was barefoot.

Aang was smiling madly, surreptitiously glancing to his right. Zuko followed the young boy's gaze, and he saw her.

_-I've never seen you looking so lovely as you did tonight  
_

_I've never seen you shine so bright-_

The red on her dark skin was gorgeous, Zuko thought as his breath caught in his throat. Her dress was made of a beautiful red material pulled tight over her curves. He was suddenly, maddeningly jealous of the silk brushing against her skin. Her hair was done in the traditional Fire Nation style with some of her hair pulled back with the rest floating around her shoulders. Her eyes were alight with a happiness he had never seen.

"_Why_…?" he said. Zuko wanted to say 'Why are they dressed in Fire Nation clothes?' but his voice sounded so choked and strange to his ears that he clamped his mouth shut tightly.

The four stood at the head of the room and looked at the crowd. Aang, peeling his eyes away from Katara, smiled at them.

"Thanks for coming, guys!" He grinned. Then his face twisted into a grimace, as if he were trying to remember something terribly important. "I have a meaning in red!!" he exclaimed triumphantly. He grinned again, but then his brows knit together, realizing that this statement didn't quite make sense. He opened his mouth again, but Katara chuckled and cut him off.

"What Aang wants to say is that today we chose to wear these red Fire Nation clothes. The war has been long, and many people were lost to it. But if we can learn to accept each other's differences even if we have to start with the little things, like clothes for instance, we can patch up the relationships between our nations."

Aang nodded enthusiastically in agreement.

So idealistic even now, Zuko thought. He felt his lips curling up into an irregularly floppy grin and desperately tried to stifle it. He looked at Aang who stood still gazing appreciatively at Katara, but he noticed a strange sort of sharpness in his eyes. Glancing around the room, he realized why, and his corners of his mouth twisted down in distaste.

Katara was commanding the attention of most of the males in the crowd.

Iroh chuckled, and when Zuko made eye contact, he could see the unnerving glint of mischievousness of a man that knows too much. Zuko let out a quick grunt of discontent and swept into the crowd.

__

-I've never seen so many men ask you if you wanted to dance

They're looking for a little romance

Given half a chance-

Aang had insisted that every party had to have dancing and that furthermore the Fire Nation was greatly in need of some quality dancing.

Zuko had never really danced before, but then, he had never really wanted to do so. Only one girl in the room would he deign to dance with, but he was too afraid that if he tried to talk to that girl he'd stutter like a maniac. To avoid unwanted feminine attention and possible idiocy, he had found a rather secluded area in the far corner of the room. To his disgruntlement, Katara was never in want of dance partners. Zuko liked to watch her dance with Fire Nation boys the best though, because they usually made themselves look rather silly with their inexperienced dance steps.

A young Northern Water Tribe that Zuko had been introduced to as Hahn had asked her to dance, and Zuko amusedly watched Sokka ungracefully stepping between the two. Zuko smiled and wished he were the one doing that. He knew, however, that he had no say in the matter of who she danced with, a fact which was building angry tension in his face and hands.

With a jealous frown on his face, he turned and went out onto the balcony.

__

-And I've never seen that dress you're wearing

_Or the highlights in your hai__r_

_That catch your eyes_

_I have been blind-_

He listened to the music drifting to him from the Great Hall, and he sighed. He was angry at Katara for dancing with all those guys, but he was even more annoyed with himself for not asking her himself. Gazing at the distant moon, he felt his heart twist uncomfortably in his chest.

"What are doing out here?"

Her voice startled him, and he whirled around to face her. Standing in the moonlight, he decided she was more glorious. The moonlight gathered in her sparkling blue eyes and sprinkled glittering stars in her hair.

"Did the crowds scare the mighty Zuko?" she asked her lips twisting into a smirk, playful challenge in her eyes.

He huffed and turned away, his cheeks a burning, embarrassed red. With his heart coiling painfully in his chest, he spat, "Dance with me."

For a moment, there was silence, and he anxiously turned to face her again. Her eyes were full of fire. "That sounded very much like a command to a lowly water peasant, Zuko. You don't know how to woo a girl do you?"

He growled low in his throat. Anger and rejection was welling up in his throat, and he did his best to clamp it down. "Fine," he managed to say. "If the prospect of dancing with me is so disgusting…"

He turned to leave but froze at the sound of her joyous laughter.

"Zuko, wait! I'm not angry with you," she chuckled again, and he turned wondrous eyes towards her. "Only a little annoyed that you didn't ask me to dance sooner."

He gaped at her, and he could feel his unscarred ear turning red. She smiled cattishly at him, and when he didn't move, she threw herself into his arms. He could feel her breath on his neck when she said, "I will dance with you, Fire Prince."

He smiled and then hesitated. Too late he realized he didn't know how to dance. Shrugging mentally, he wrapped his arms around her, and holding her close, he swayed with her to the soft music drifting lazily through the air.

_-The lady in red is dancing with me_

_Cheek to cheek_

_There's nobody here_

_It's just you and me_

_It's where I wanna be-_

Katara's face was pressed into the crook of his neck, and he leaned his face against hers. He nestled his face against hers, but after a moment, he realized that her flawlessly smooth cheek was against the scarred side of his face. He began to jerk away, but one of the hands wrapped around his neck stopped him.

"No," she whispered. "It's all right." With this, she lifted her head and pressed her face against his. "I don't mind your scar Zuko."

And so, they danced.

__

-But I hardly know this beauty by my side

I'll never forget the way you look tonight

I've never seen you looking so gorgeous as you did tonight

I've never seen you shine so bright you were amazing-

A snicker echoed from the doorway.

"Toldya I could find the two lovebirds."

Katara, cheeks blazing, sprang away from the Fire Prince, and Zuko immediately wished she was back in his arms. It felt more right that way.

He turned to see Sokka staring at the two of them with a sort of sullen seriousness, Toph grinning at his side.

"What are you doing, Katara?!" Sokka blundered.

"Dancing," she replied with a challenge in her eyes.

Sokka cringed a bit at his sister's angry gaze, but he continued, "I didn't give you permission to dance with Sir Sparks-a-lot."

"I don't need your permission to dance with anyone," she replied. She turned to Zuko and said, "I loved dancing with you, Fire Prince." She cast a quick glance Sokka before taking two steps towards him again. She stared into his eyes, and Zuko, confused, stared back. She seemed to make a decision, and quickly rising to her tiptoes, she pressed her lips against his. It was a short brushing of skin, but Zuko thought she had never been more achingly beautiful than in that moment with her lips against his.

She turned quickly to leave, but Zuko stopped her. "I loved dancing with you also, Lady in Red."

He came to stand beside Katara, and Zuko gazed into Sokka's flabbergasted face. Zuko smiled at the younger boy as he took Katara's hand in his. Together, the couple walked past the sputtering boy and the cackling blind girl at his side.

_-I've never seen so many people want to be there by your side_

_And when you turned to me and smiled it took my breath away_

_And I have never had such a feeling such a feeling_

_Of complete and utter love, as I do tonight-_

Zuko danced with her again, but the rest of the dances were mostly lead by Katara, who attempted to teach him dances she had learned growing up. He was a quick learner and excelled in some of them. Other dances, though, he stumbled through, but with Katara smiling at him, he forgot to feel ashamed for looking silly. He was enjoying himself far too much to take time for such a silly emotion as misplaced shame.

Of course, several young men tried to steal the Fire Prince's partner from him, but a well-placed glare sent the boys scuttling away._  
_

When the party ended, the two were still together, sitting at the head of the room. They were talking to each other in low voices, though no one was quite sure what they discussed. Zuko made eye contact with Iroh who always seemed to be near the couple. Zuko smiled a soft smile at his Uncle and squeezed Katara's hand tighter in his, his thumb rubbing the red silk of Katara's dress.

Uncle nodded, seeming to need no words to understand the emotions shining in his nephew's eyes.

_-I never will forget the way you look tonight_

_The lady in red_

_My lady in red_

_I love you-_

A/N I hope you like it. Comments and criticism are nice. I find it interesting that I seem to write from Zuko's point of view a lot. Which I find strange as I generally prefer to write from a feminine point of view. B/C as a female that's just easier for me... Huh. Oh well. haha.


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